Collaboration between General and Special Education Teachers in Inclusive Classrooms: A Review of the Literature

Teaching in inclusive classrooms is challenging for teachers, therefore, collaboration is considered one of the main elements for inclusive education to be effective for all students. This paper aims to conduct a literature review of how general and special education teachers implement collaborative practices to meet all students' needs in mainstream schools. Peer-reviewed academic papers and dissertations on collaborative practices were reviewed. The literature review offers an analysis of studies that address how teachers collaborate in the context of inclusive classrooms. The resultant discussion indicates that teachers recognize the value of collaboration but they highlight insufficient and limited collaborative behavior. The review also shows that there is a difference between studies regarding the implementation of collaborative practices and this can be interpreted by the different school cultures in each research. Nevertheless, this paper illustrates a variety of obstacles, which hinder the teachers' partnership and pinpoint the need for specific factors as training, positive attitudes, communication, and more time for the collaboration between teachers to be successful. Finally, this review demonstrates the need for additional research to fill the remaining gaps concerning the development of methods to overcome constraints impeding successful collaboration. Keywords: inclusive education, collaboration, general – special education teachers, obstacles. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-6-04 Publication date: February 28th 202

The Self-Efficacy of Special and General Education Teachers in Implementing Inclusive Education in Greek Secondary Education

[EN] Teachers’ self-efficacy is important as it affects their views on their ability to teach. In special education, self-efficacy is particularly critical because it helps teachers understand and assist students with special educational needs (SEND). The main objective of the current study was to examine special and general education teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive practices at Greek secondary education schools and how teachers’ age, gender, teaching experience, and training affect their self-efficacy for inclusive practices. The current research is primary, quantitative, correlational, between and within groups, and has a non-experimental design. A sample was conducted by 265 general and special education teachers. The Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale was used to measure teachers’ perceived self-efficacy to implement inclusive classroom practices. Results indicated that teachers of special education presented higher efficacy in using inclusive instructions, collaborating, and dealing with disruptive behaviors. The training was considered a significant factor that affected attitudes of self-efficacy towards inclusive practices. Demographic characteristics, such as age and gender, do not seem to be significant factors in the formation of self-efficacy towards inclusive practices, while the effect of teaching experience in special education was statistically significant on all components of the self-efficacy scale

Collaboration between In-Service School Teachers and Families in the Context of Inclusive Education: A Review of the Recent Literature

Collaboration between teachers and parents of children with and without disabilities is one of the key essential elements to ensure effective inclusive education. The purpose of this literature review paper is to examine international empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journals and Greek dissertations from 2015-2020. It focuses on collaboration practices between in-service educators and parents in the context of inclusive education in primary and secondary schools. Particularly, the article pinpoints the way teachers and parents collaborate, the factors that enhance successful collaboration, and finally the obstacles that hinder effective cooperation. The analyses showed various levels of parental involvement depending on the type of school studied. More specifically, in exemplary schools, teachers and parents seem to build effective collaborative relationships as they apply holistic collaborative and communicative practices. In the other schools studied, communication is usually limited to mandatory meetings, the main subject of which is the behavior of students. Moreover, the review illustrates a variety of barriers that hinder teacher-parent partnerships with the predominant obstacle being lack of time. Subsequently, it highlights the need for specific factors that strengthen successful collaboration between parents and teachers. Finally, this review indicates the need for additional research to explore specific strategies that educators and families could promote to achieve effective collaboration. Keywords: Inclusive education, collaboration, teacher-family, obstacles. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-6-05 Publication date: February 28th 2021

Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusive Education at Greek Secondary Education Schools

[EN] Advocates of inclusive education believe in the right of all learners to education and the many benefits it delivers. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs toward inclusive education are instantly reflected in their classroom activities and practices. This research will concentrate on special and general education teachers in Greek secondary schools. It will investigate their attitudes toward inclusive education and how these attitudes alter as a consequence of variables such as age, gender, teaching experience, and inclusive education training. Quantitative, main, and correlational research was obtained between groups using a non-experimental technique. The sample was taken from 307 educators, who were almost equally divided between general and special education. The SACIE-R questionnaire was used to assess teachers’ attitudes toward inclusive education. The outcomes of the research demonstrated that attitudes toward inclusive education were impacted by the kind of special education received, as well as age and general education teaching experience. Furthermore, positive attitudes were impacted by gender, but negative sentiments and concerns were influenced by general education and special education teaching experience. Finally, the study revealed low levels of negative sentiments, medium levels of concerns, and high levels of favourable attitudes toward inclusive education

The Self-Efficacy of Special and General Education Teachers in Implementing Inclusive Education in Greek Secondary Education

Teachers’ self-efficacy is important as it affects their views on their ability to teach. In special education, self-efficacy is particularly critical because it helps teachers understand and assist students with special educational needs (SEND). The main objective of the current study was to examine special and general education teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive practices at Greek secondary education schools and how teachers’ age, gender, teaching experience, and training affect their self-efficacy for inclusive practices. The current research is primary, quantitative, correlational, between and within groups, and has a non-experimental design. A sample was conducted by 265 general and special education teachers. The Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale was used to measure teachers’ perceived self-efficacy to implement inclusive classroom practices. Results indicated that teachers of special education presented higher efficacy in using inclusive instructions, collaborating, and dealing with disruptive behaviors. The training was considered a significant factor that affected attitudes of self-efficacy towards inclusive practices. Demographic characteristics, such as age and gender, do not seem to be significant factors in the formation of self-efficacy towards inclusive practices, while the effect of teaching experience in special education was statistically significant on all components of the self-efficacy scale

The Attitudes of Greek Special and General Education Teachers toward Inclusion and their Self-efficacy in the Implementation of Inclusive Education in Secondary Education. The Effect on the Collaboration with Parents of Children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities

335 p.In recent years, the separation between general education and special education has been slowly diminishing as they become an integrated single system. Teachers' attitudes and perceptions can completely change the climate of a classroom, as they have a great impact on the behavior of the students during the learning process. In an inclusive school, it seems clear that teachers' views on their self-efficacy have also changed, as have their roles and the conditions of their pedagogical profile.Current research aims to investigate the effect of self-efficacy of general and special secondary education teachers at Greek high schools in implementing inclusive practices on attitudes towards inclusion, as well as the effect of self-efficacy and attitudes towards inclusion on the collaboration of teachers with parents of children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). In addition, differences between general and special education teachers regarding the sense of self-efficacy in implementing inclusive practices and the formation of perceptions about attitudes and collaboration are examined, as are the effects of training and demographic profile on the above parameters.Current research is primary, quantitative, and correlational, between and within subjects, in a non-experimental design, using questionnaires of acceptable reliability (a¿0,605) and validity. In the current research, 265 teachers participated, almost equally distributed between general (N = 131) or special education (N = 134) and permanent (N = 120) or deputy (N = 144) employment status, mainly teaching in Central Greece, Attica, Central Macedonia, and the Southern Aegean, with the specialty of philologist, science teacher, or mathematician. Most of them have training in special education, are female, older than 35 years old, and have 0¿5 years of teaching experience in special education. At a significance level of 5%, the independent samples t-test, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and multiple linear regression models were used. The necessary ethical issues were confirmed.Teachers who were highly effective at collaborating demonstrated more positive attitudes toward inclusion. The efficacy of general education teachers to use inclusive instructions as well as the efficacy of special education teachers to deal with disruptive behaviors enhanced the attitudes toward inclusion. Teachers of special education, as well as teachers with special education training and teachers that have attended a course or seminar on the education of students with SEND, present self-efficacy to implement inclusive practices, formulate perceptions about attitudes, and collaborate with parents of students. Teachers¿ efficacy to collaborate increased the levels of collaboration with parents of students with SEND. General teachers¿ efficacy to use inclusive instructions and a positive attitude toward logistical concerns led to increased levels of collaboration. Special teachers¿ inclusive attitudes improved levels of collaboration with the parents, while females and younger teachers supported more inclusive attitudes, while middle-aged teachers had higher levels of collaboration. Teachers' having children with SEND at home presented higher efficacy in dealing with disruptive behaviors. Deputy teachers presented more inclusive attitudes and better collaboration for teaching but cited more personal reasons as obstacles to cooperation. Teachers with more experience in special education indicated higher efficacy in implementing inclusive practices, while teachers with moderate experience displayed higher inclusive attitudes and collaboration. Collaboration at all levels is facilitated not just by teachers' abilities and understanding of inclusive methods but also by their increased self-efficacy and positive attitudes about inclusion. In Greece, insufficient studies have been conducted on the issue of collaboration with parents; therefore, there is an obvious need to investigate strategies to improve teacher-parent collaboration, particularly in special education

Οι στάσεις των Ελλήνων εκπαιδευτικών ειδικής και γενικής αγωγής απέναντι στην συμπερίληψη και η αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα τους στην εφαρμογή της συμπεριληπτικής εκπαίδευσης στη δευτεροβάθμια εκπαίδευση: η επίδραση στη συνεργασία με τους γονείς παιδιών με ειδικές εκπαιδευτικές ανάγκες ή/και αναπηρίες

In recent years, the separation between general education and special education has been slowly diminishing as they become an integrated single system. Teachers' attitudes and perceptions can completely change the climate of a classroom, as they have a great impact on the behavior of the students during the learning process. In an inclusive school, it seems clear that teachers' views on their self-efficacy have also changed, as have their roles and the conditions of their pedagogical profile. Current research aims to investigate the effect of self-efficacy of general and special secondary education teachers at Greek high schools in implementing inclusive practices on attitudes towards inclusion, as well as the effect of self-efficacy and attitudes towards inclusion on the collaboration of teachers with parents of children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). In addition, differences between general and special education teachers regarding the sense of self-efficacy in implementing inclusive practices and the formation of perceptions about attitudes and collaboration are examined, as are the effects of training and demographic profile on the above parameters. Current research is primary, quantitative, and correlational, between and within subjects, in a non-experimental design, using questionnaires of acceptable reliability (a≥0,605) and validity. In the current research, 265 teachers participated, almost equally distributed between general (N = 131) or special education (N = 134) and permanent (N = 120) or deputy (N = 144) employment status, mainly teaching in Central Greece, Attica, Central Macedonia, and the Southern Aegean, with the specialty of philologist, science teacher, or mathematician. Most of them have training in special education, are female, older than 35 years old, and have 0–5 years of teaching experience in special education. At a significance level of 5%, the independent samples t-test, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and multiple linear regression models were used. The necessary ethical issues were confirmed. Teachers who were highly effective at collaborating demonstrated more positive attitudes toward inclusion. The efficacy of general education teachers to use inclusive instructions as well as the efficacy of special education teachers to deal with disruptive behaviors enhanced the attitudes toward inclusion. Teachers of special education, as well as teachers with special education training and teachers that have attended a course or seminar on the education of students with SEND, present self-efficacy to implement inclusive practices, formulate perceptions about attitudes, and collaborate with parents of students. Teachers’ efficacy to collaborate increased the levels of collaboration with parents of students with SEND. General teachers’ efficacy to use inclusive instructions and a positive attitude toward logistical concerns led to increased levels of collaboration. Special teachers’ inclusive attitudes improved levels of collaboration with the parents, while females and younger teachers supported more inclusive attitudes, while middle-aged teachers had higher levels of collaboration. Teachers' having children with SEND at home presented higher efficacy in dealing with disruptive behaviors. Deputy teachers presented more inclusive attitudes and better collaboration for teaching but cited more personal reasons as obstacles to cooperation. Teachers with more experience in special education indicated higher efficacy in implementing inclusive practices, while teachers with moderate experience displayed higher inclusive attitudes and collaboration. Collaboration at all levels is facilitated not just by teachers' abilities and understanding of inclusive methods but also by their increased self-efficacy and positive attitudes about inclusion. In Greece, insufficient studies have been conducted on the issue of collaboration with parents; therefore, there is an obvious need to investigate strategies to improve teacher-parent collaboration, particularly in special education.Τα τελευταία χρόνια, ο διαχωρισμός μεταξύ γενικής εκπαίδευσης και ειδικής εκπαίδευσης αμβλύνεται σιγά-σιγά καθώς αποτελούν πλέον ένα ενιαίο και ολοκληρωμένο σύστημα. Οι στάσεις και οι αντιλήψεις των εκπαιδευτικών μπορούν να αλλάξουν εντελώς το κλίμα μιας τάξης, καθώς έχουν μεγάλο αντίκτυπο στη συμπεριφορά των μαθητών κατά τη διάρκεια της μαθησιακής διαδικασίας. Σε ένα συμπεριληπτικό σχολείο γίνεται σαφές ότι οι απόψεις των εκπαιδευτικών σχετικά με την αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα τους, τους ρόλους τους αλλά και το παιδαγωγικό τους προφίλ έχουν επίσης αλλάξει. Η παρούσα έρευνα στοχεύει στη διερεύνηση της επίδρασης της αυτοαποτελεσματικότητας των εκπαιδευτικών γενικής και ειδικής αγωγής στα ελληνικά σχολεία δευτεροβάθμιας εκπαίδευσης όσον άφορα στην εφαρμογή συμπεριληπτικών πρακτικών, στις στάσεις τους απέναντι στη συμπερίληψη, καθώς και στην επίδραση των παραγόντων αυτών στην συνεργασία τους με τους γονείς παιδιών με Ειδικές Εκπαιδευτικές Ανάγκες ή/και Αναπηρίες (ΕΕΑ). Επιπλέον, εξετάζονται οι διαφορές μεταξύ εκπαιδευτικών γενικής και ειδικής αγωγής όσον αφορά την αίσθηση αυτοαποτελεσματικότητας στην εφαρμογή συμπεριληπτικών πρακτικών, τη διαμόρφωση των στάσεων, τη συνεργασία τους με τους γονείς, καθώς και η επίδραση της επιμόρφωσης και του δημογραφικού προφίλ στις παραπάνω παραμέτρους. Η παρούσα έρευνα είναι πρωτογενής, ποσοτική και συσχετιστική, μεταξύ και εντός των υποκειμένων, σε μη πειραματικό σχεδιασμό, χρησιμοποιώντας ερωτηματολόγια αποδεκτής αξιοπιστίας (α≥0,605) και εγκυρότητας. Στην έρευνα συμμετείχαν 265 εκπαιδευτικοί, σχεδόν ισομερώς κατανεμημένοι μεταξύ γενικής (Ν=131) και ειδικής αγωγής (Ν=134) και μόνιμων (Ν=120) ή αναπληρωτών (Ν=144), με περιοχή εργασίας κυρίως στη Στερεά Ελλάδα, την Αττική, την Κεντρική Μακεδονία και το Νότιο Αιγαίο, με ειδικότητες, κυρίως, φιλολόγων, καθηγητών φυσικών επιστημών και μαθηματικών. Οι περισσότεροι από αυτούς έχουν κατάρτιση στην ειδική αγωγή, είναι γυναίκες, άνω των 35 ετών και έχουν 0-5 χρόνια διδακτικής εμπειρίας στην ειδική αγωγή. Σε επίπεδο σημαντικότητας 5%, χρησιμοποιήθηκαν τα ανεξάρτητα δείγματα t-test, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis και πολλαπλά μοντέλα γραμμικής παλινδρόμησης, ενώ λήφθηκαν υπόψη τα απαραίτητα ζητήματα επιστημονικής δεοντολογίας. Οι εκπαιδευτικοί που ήταν ιδιαίτερα αποτελεσματικοί στη συνεργασία έδειξαν πιο θετική στάση απέναντι στη συμπερίληψη. Η αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα των εκπαιδευτικών γενικής εκπαίδευσης στη χρήση συμπεριληπτικών πρακτικών, καθώς και η αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα των εκπαιδευτικών ειδικής αγωγής στην αντιμετώπιση προβληματικών συμπεριφορών ενίσχυσαν τη στάση τους απέναντι στην συμπερίληψη. Οι εκπαιδευτικοί ειδικής και γενικής αγωγής που έχουν επιμορφωθεί σε θέματα ειδικής εκπαίδευσης, καθώς και οι εκπαιδευτικοί που έχουν παρακολουθήσει ένα μάθημα ή σεμινάριο για την εκπαίδευση των μαθητών με ΕΕΑ, παρουσιάζουν υψηλότερη αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα στην εφαρμογή συμπεριληπτικών πρακτικών, εμφανίζουν θετικότερες στάσεις και συνεργάζονται με τους γονείς των μαθητών. Η αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα των εκπαιδευτικών στη συνεργασία αύξησε τα επίπεδα συνεργασίας με τους γονείς των μαθητών με ΕΕΑ. Η αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα των εκπαιδευτικών γενικής αγωγής να χρησιμοποιούν συμπεριληπτικές οδηγίες οδήγησε σε αυξημένα επίπεδα συνεργασίας με τους γονείς. Η συμπεριληπτική στάση των εκπαιδευτικών ειδικής αγωγής βελτίωσε τα επίπεδα συνεργασίας με τους γονείς, ενώ οι γυναίκες και οι νεότεροι εκπαιδευτικοί υποστήριξαν συμπεριληπτικές συμπεριφορές και οι μεσήλικες εκπαιδευτικοί είχαν υψηλότερα επίπεδα συνεργασίας. Οι εκπαιδευτικοί που είχαν παιδιά με ΕΕΑ στο σπίτι παρουσίασαν υψηλότερη αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα στην αντιμετώπιση προβληματικών συμπεριφορών. Οι αναπληρωτές εκπαιδευτικοί εμφάνισαν πιο συμπεριληπτικές συμπεριφορές και καλύτερη συνεργασία για τη διδασκαλία, αλλά ανέφεραν προσωπικούς λόγους ως εμπόδια στη συνεργασία. Οι εκπαιδευτικοί με μεγαλύτερη εμπειρία στην ειδική εκπαίδευση έδειξαν μεγαλύτερη αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα στην εφαρμογή συμπεριληπτικών πρακτικών, ενώ οι εκπαιδευτικοί με μέτρια εμπειρία εμφάνισαν θετικότερη στάση και συνεργασία. Η συνεργασία σε όλα τα επίπεδα διευκολύνεται όχι μόνο από τις ικανότητες των εκπαιδευτικών και την κατανόηση των μεθόδων συμπερίληψης, αλλά και από την αυξημένη αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα τους και τη θετική στάση τους απέναντι στην συμπερίληψη. Στην Ελλάδα δεν έχουν διεξαχθεί επαρκείς μελέτες σχετικά με το θέμα της συνεργασίας με τους γονείς. Ως εκ τούτου, υπάρχει προφανής ανάγκη διερεύνησης στρατηγικών για τη βελτίωση της συνεργασίας εκπαιδευτικών-γονέων, ιδιαίτερα στην ειδική εκπαίδευση παιδιών με ειδικές εκπαιδευτικές ανάγκες ή/και αναπηρίες